1. Field
The disclosure relates generally to an improved data processing system, and more specifically to traceability management for aligning information technology (IT) solution artifacts with business goals in a service oriented architecture environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is an extensible architectural framework at the programming and middleware level, business process level, and enterprise level comprising a set of business-aligned services that are combined (composed and choreographed) to fulfill business goals. SOA consulting services help customers solve business problems by developing SOA principles and best practices that guide planning, development, integration, and management of application infrastructures. Currently, most SOA consulting services are conducted in an ad-hoc and labor intensive way due to disparate methods, tools, and solution content. For example, existing techniques for providing traditional consulting services concentrate on application-specific areas or industry-specific areas. Documentation-based consulting practices have resulted in a challenge of standardizing a design approach for various solution creation scenarios. With paper-based services delivery practices, solution artifacts created in one scenario may not be able to be widely reused or quickly adapted to various types of industry solutions.